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ues
Wednesday, Jan. 25th, 2012 # 1192 |
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This digest brought to you by a founding sponsor of Eco-Voice, the
http://www.audubonswfl.org/
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Glades a'fire
Mark Renz photo art
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Click to headline to download copy.
Annual Report
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Feathers & Friends Gala 2012
... Thu, Feb 9 2012, 6:30p.m. - 9:30p.m.
Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club, Naples, FL, United States
Tickets are now available to join celebrated author, investigative reporter, columnist, and environmentalist Carl Hiaasen, the keynote speaker at the 2012 Feathers & Friends Gala.
As a reporter, columnist, and author, Hiaasen has used his columns and books to air his objections to environmental degradation in his own trademark humorous, satirical, and very powerful manner.
Collier Audubon supports environmental advocacy throughout south Florida.
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Happy Hour at the Okaloacoochee Slough
(tree swallows) Mark Renz photo
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Please Tell the Legislature Not to Privatize 500,000 Acres of State Submerged Lands - HB 1103
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The legislature is entertaining an insidious effort to privatize Florida's sovereign submerged lands and prevent public access. Your voice is needed to prevent this very bad, precedent-setting legislation.
HB 1103 would give an estimated 500,000 acres of public land to private landowners by changing the definition of the ordinary high-water line in lakes, rivers and wetlands. By swapping the ordinary high-water line for the low-water line, the land between would be privatized allowing upland property owners to prevent public access, making it illegal for the public to fish, hunt, bird watch, camp or use lands along Florida's freshwater bodies that have always been public.
Fisheating Creek
Fisheating Creek provides an example of what this bill could do. Advocates for public access battled for over a decade to restore public access to this historic and scenic river when the landowners fenced off the creek, calling it private land. The court determined that the landowner had to remove the fences and allow public access but this bill could undermine access issues.
The bill sponsor is Tom Goodson of Titusville. The House Agriculture and Natural Resource Committee passed the bill with nine members voting for and four against. The four who voted against this bill are Representative Vasilinda Rehwinkel, Sands, Perman and Bullard. The next stop for this bill is the Civil Justice Subcommittee, a great place to kill this very bad bill. One of the members is from our region in Naples, Kathleen Passidomo, but we encourage you to contact all the members so that they know there is public outrage at having natural public resources taken away from the public and privatized.
Civil Justice Committee Members:
The chair is Eric Eisnaugle an attorney from Orlando whose hobbies are hiking, photography and wildlife watching. Other members of the committee are Vice Chair Clay Ford, Pensacola; Richard Steinberg, Miami Beach; Bernard Mack, West Palm Beach; Matt Gaetz, Shalimar (enjoys fishing); Bill Hager, Boca Raton; Shawn Harrison, Temple Terrace; Marty Kiar, Temple Terrace; Larry Metz, Eustis; Kathleen Passidomo; Naples, Darren Soto, Orlando; Cynthia Stafford, Miam; Kelli Stargel, Lakeland; Gregory Steube, Sarasota; and Michael Weinstein, Jacksonville. Please email as many of these members as you can. For individual emails, click here for our web site.
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The Bill.
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Central Everglades Planning Project Working Group-sponsored public workshop Jan. 25th and Project Delivery Team meeting Jan. 31st.
The next South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force Working Group-sponsored public workshop for the Central Everglades Planning Project (CEPP) will be Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the South Florida Water Management District Headquarters in the Governing Board Auditorium, Building B-1, 3301 Gun Club Road, West Palm Beach, FL 33406. This is the third in a series of public workshops being sponsored by the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Task Force to engage the public in the Central Everglades Planning Project. The Task Force will provide feedback from the workshop to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) during the Central Everglades Planning Project.
A webcast link for this workshop will be made available a few minutes before 9 a.m. This link, along with additional information on the Task Force's Working Group-sponsored public workshops is available at: www.sfrestore.org/cepp/cepp.html
The agenda for the Task Force's Working Group-sponsored public workshop is available at: http://www.sfrestore.org/cepp/meetings/012512/CEPP_01_25_12_Agenda.pdf
The addendum to the agenda for the Task Force's Working Group-sponsored public workshop is available at:
http://www.sfrestore.org/cepp/meetings/012512/Addendum_CEPP_022512.pdf
Additionally, the USACE and SFWMD will be holding a CERP Project Delivery Team (PDT) meeting for the Central Everglades Planning Project Tuesday, Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the SFWMD Headquarters' Governing Board Auditorium. PDT meetings enable federal, state and local agencies and tribal governments to provide their input into the Central Everglades Planning Project. Members of the public may attend the PDT meeting and provide public comment at the end of the meeting.
Additional information on CEPP is available at:
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The agenda for the PDT meeting, along with call-in information is available at:
Thank you for your interest and participation in the Central Everglades Planning Project, which is part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).
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Gotta git!
Blue-winged Teal -- Harns Marsh Preserve Mark Renz photo
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Download a PDF of the CEPP Scoping Presentation: The National Environmental Policy Act Scoping Meeting Presentation was presented by Kim Taplin and Gina Paduano Ralph at the CEPP Public Meetings held in December 2011. (1.7 MB, PDF) |
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Our nation's aquatic ecosystems sustain our existence. America's waters provide us with drinking water, recreational opportunities and a conduit for transportation, while simultaneously hosting diverse fish and wildlife communities. Quite simply, uncontaminated waters make life as we know it possible. Due to our dependence on and constant use of our water resources restoring these important ecosystems is both challenging and crucial.
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"This coalition will be a critical tool for continuing to show Congress and the administration that the American people care deeply about our great waters," says Jennifer Heller, NWF's national restoration campaign program coordinator. "By advocating with a collective voice, we put ourselves one step closer to restoring our treasured waters for future generations."
http://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Wildlife/AmericasGreatWatersMap.ashx
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http://www.conservationreports.blogspot.com/
South Florida Audubon Society Conservation Report
South Florida Audubon Society, based in Broward County, fosters conservation through local, regional, national, and global environmental advocacy and activities throughout South Florida with an emphasis on birds and other wildlife and their habitats. We welcome new members interested in leaving the best possible legacy for future generations. Please visit us at http://www.southfloridaaudubon.org |
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STA 5 Birding Tour Schedule
Hendry-Glades Audubon will lead escorted tours to Stormwater Treatment Area 5 (STA-5) south of Clewiston his season. Tours are open to anyone, but participants must register to reserve a space on the trips. To sign up contact : Margaret England, at sta5birding@embarqmail.com or 863-674-0695 include your name and contact information including an emergency cell number for the tour day. |
 | CRP - Mark Renz photo
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WOMEN'S OUTDOOR WEEKEND AT CALOOSAHATCHEE REGIONAL PARK
March 16, 17 and 18
With a little help from local outdoors-women you'll experience tent camping, hayride, kayaking, wood burning, archery, fishing, camp cooking, basket making and stargazing. Additional workshops may include birding, earth crafts, night hike, biking and more. Come out to relax around the campfire. Don't forget to bring your friends, sisters, and moms. If you have questions on what to bring or would like additional information, please call Cindy at (239) 694 - 0398. $65.00 per person. Register online at https://www.leeparks.org. Register today! Registration ends March 2nd, 2012.
Caloosahatchee Regional Park is a Lee County park located at 18500 North River Road in Alva, Florida. The park features 768 acres of pine flatwoods, scrub oak, cypress swamps and oak hammocks. Crossing through them, you'll find over 18 miles of hiking, mountain biking and equestrian trails. Primitive camp sites for families and groups are available, along with equestrian sites for people with horses. Kayaking and fishing are available along the banks of the Caloosahatchee River. Find us online at www.leeparks.org
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The South Florida Water Management District is committed to providing the public with the information and resources to participate fully in discussions and decisions on water resources.
Get started through the SFWMD Learning Center. Search for a variety of documents, including general-interest fact sheets, materials for teachers and students and in-depth publications on topics of interest to many residents and visitors. View the most popular materials, and discover how you can learn more and help preserve our shared water resources. |
http://www.sfwmd.gov/portal/pls/portal/portal_apps.repository_lib_pkg.repository_browse
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This review is from: Florida's Water: A Fragile Resource in a Vulnerable State (Hardcover) Watersheds have been promoted as the logical geographic unit for integrated water management. However, responsibility for water resources is fragmented across numerous federal water agencies each one of which is charged with managing one aspect of the resource. The Florida Water Resources Act of 1972 that divided water management in Florida among five water management districts was a major step forward towards the goal of sustainable multipurpose water systems. Tom Swihart presents a unique perspective on the accomplishments and remaining challenges for water management in Florida with emphasis on changes since the 1972 Act. The recently retired Administrator of the State Office of Water Policy describes the unique nature of each of the five water management districts. He addresses long-standing policy questions such as charging for extracting water that have been proposed on numerous occasions and the wasteful impacts of agricultural subsidies. I highly recommend this book for readers with a variety of backgrounds who seek to better understand the dynamics of water management in Florida that has succeeded in taking an holistic, watershed based, approach to regional water management. |
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Pursuit of BeautyYou approach me at dawn and stoop to free me from the salty sand Then take me home because you think I am beautiful But I often wonder if you only know of beauty what you see in the Moment...Click Mark Renz photo for more words |
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